It was Bogota which was the first to act. And this is not a surprise: little is known about it, but the Colombian capital is a world pioneer in the development of cycling in the city. And its mayor, Claudia Lopez, considers that the use of the bicycle is a very good option in these times of virus and confinement. Since mid-March, it has therefore had an additional 76 km of cycle paths created by closing axes previously used by cars. Bogota now has 550 km of cycle paths.
Several large cities have recently taken similar initiatives: Berlin, Bremen and Mönchengladbach in Germany, Seville in Spain, New York and Philadelphia in the United States, Calgary in Canada. Each time, avenues deserted by cars are now reserved for cyclists. In New York, for example, where 80% of public space is made up of streets, a whole part of 2nd avenue in Manhattan has been converted into a bicycle path. And bicycle traffic increased by 50% in the first half of March, just before the wave of the epidemic hit the city. In Denmark, the government is also pushing people to use their bicycles. Same thing in Buenos Aires in Argentina. And some capitals are considering reserving cycle lanes for health workers.
All this owes nothing to chance: there are many advantages. First, cycling is a good way to avoid the promiscuity conducive to the spread of the virus: the worst in this area is obviously public transport. And even in relation to a pedestrian, the cyclist, by the sole physical presence of his bicycle, is mechanically at a certain safe distance from his neighbor. It also allows you to go shopping for food without wasting too much time, if you don’t have a store right next to your home. Let’s add that it’s a way to exercise and relax psychologically. And then it’s an efficient system for home deliveries, one of the few activities that is still in full swing. Last week, several British scientists called for preserving or even developing the use of cycling in the coming period. Contemporary history also shows that the bicycle is a means of transport that spontaneously resurfaces in crisis phases, for example in Tokyo in 2011 or in Mexico City in 2017 after earthquakes.
France is a bit of an exception; as part of the containment measures, it does not authorize the use of the bicycle for physical exercise. The use of the bicycle is really limited to specific cases, for example if you absolutely have to work and go to work with your two-wheeler. It must also be said that the multiplication of new bicycle users can create problems. In New York last month, two-wheeler accidents increased. In addition, many people do not have a room to store their bicycles. The fact remains that France is today, along with Spain, one of the most stringent countries in limiting the use of bicycles for recreational purposes.
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